


Escape Reality

by Eraclese



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Xenoblade Chronicles, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Multiverse, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-01-30 06:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21423670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eraclese/pseuds/Eraclese
Summary: In the wake of a kingdom's collapse, Izuku, Shulk, Reyn, Dunban and Kirishima forge their path through a crumbling world, trying save it one step at a time. The frozen hands of destiny have started to move again, beyond even the Monado's predictions. Only one thing is certain, the world will never be the same.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Humble Beginnings

The events of that night still haunted Izuku, the previously beautiful oceanic scene was tainted by his own view, a view of dread, of fear. But most of all, his view of vengeance. Before that night, he never knew what could drive someone to kill another person.

In his hand, he tightly gripped the gift that All Might gave to him before he left. It was a pale stone, with patterns of vines carved in, as well as a dove made of glass shards in the center, just above the word “hope”. He told him to use the stone as a reminder that even when times are dark, there is still hope with him.

‘That’s All Might for you. Even now, in these times, he can still give us something to keep us going.’ Izuku laughed as he looked out over the side of the ship. The water had ended, and now they were floating through space. He looked down and saw the fragmented world. It was the first time he had seen the expansive world. It felt like an impossibility that a world like this could exist and still hold life, yet then again, more impossible things have happened in the span of a single month.

“Hey, Izuku!” Reyn shouted behind him, coming over to him. They both stood there, leaning on the railing and looking at the emptiness before them. Though fragments of the planet were scattered across the view, they looked more like meteors than islands.

Though, Izuku knew Reyn wouldn’t just wander around for any old reason. “So what’s up Reyn?”

“Just checking up on everyone.” He stood corrected. “So how are you doing? You know, after the whole fiasco?”

Izuku laughed at that last part. “I guess that’s one way to phrase the events that happened that night.”

“You know, it’s still baffling that there’s really a Multiverse out there. And here I thought that I would only live to see the Bionis and Mechonis my entire life.”

“Bion— what?”

“It’s a rather long story. I’ll let Shulk do the explaining on that one, though it’s not really important.”

They continued to stare off into the void that separated the world, with several rays of light breaking through the fragments. The ruined remains of Victory still seemed to burst with radiant energy, as if the power that shattered it was still surging through the ground of the kingdom.

“By the way, how exactly do we plan to get to Titanic when we’re flat broke?” Izuku asked.

Reyn shifted a bit, a bead of sweat trailing down his cheek. “Well… we don’t exactly know. B-But I’m sure Dunban and Shulk will figure something out!”

Izuku loudly sighed at Reyn’s not at all convincing remark. “So basically we’re at a dead end. Just give it to me straight.”

“Yeah. Dead end. But hopefully, the village on Suizo will have some paying work so we can afford another ship to the next place.” Reyn was certainly an optimist, Izuku couldn’t deny that.

“Well, I guess hero work does have its limits.” Izuku chuckled near the end as a fragment passed over them, entirely engulfing their view.

“You’re saying that being a hero is an actual profession in your world? Well I’ll be.” Reyn laughed at the mere thought.

“What’s so funny about it?”

“Well, it’s just that being part of the defense force of Colony 9 wasn’t exactly the most glamorous of jobs. I’m just imagining what it must be like to have trained for something you knew was coming instead of a boogeyman.”

Izuku laughed at that for a while. “If you mean all the attacks that we’ve been through, I would say we were hardly trained for something like that. Hell, the attack on the USJ was during a rescue training session, nothing involving combat.”

“Still sounds better than training under Colonel Square-tashe.” The name alone made Izuku burst out laughing.

“Square-tashe? Please tell me the image in my head is as good as reality.”

“Oh, probably. Mustache at perfect right angles, vibrant pink.” Izuku laughed even harder now at the mental image.

“Oh, that’s much better than what I was imagining.”

“Yo guys!” Kirishima shouted across the deck. “Shulk gave me the word to gather up everyone! We’re going over the game plan!”

“We’ll be right there!” Izuku responded, taking one last look over the interior of the fragmented planet before heading off with Reyn.  
——Meanwhile, on Suizo——  
“She went that way!” The blades of her pursuers lit up with energy, illuminating the dark corridors that she hid within. When she thought she had avoided the authorities, she was faced with one of the elite guards.

“You’re the infamous assassin, right? We’ve had one hell of a time hunting you down.” His titanium blade became illuminated at the blade with a pulsing blue energy.

“Good. I needed more fuel for my weapon.” The assassin unsheathed her sword, which digitally constructed itself from the hilt outward.

‘No doubt about it. The weapon seals the deal.’ The guard charged forward, using a wide slash as his opening move. The assassin leaped over the slash as it tears through three pipes. The clouds of steam that erupted cloaked both of their views, forcing the guard to leap backward. But as he did so, the assassin was able to slash his thigh, though the cut wasn’t too deep, just a graze.

Without hesitation, the assassin rushes him from the cloud of steam, giving him mere milliseconds to react. Thankfully, he was able to block the incoming strike, but not before the blade burst at the tip, a small fragment piercing just above his eyebrow. A few other fragments merely bounced off his armor. The blood trickled into his eye, but he pushed through the stinging pain and slashed once more at the agile assassin. To no avail, though, as her blade was plunged into his shoulder.

“You wanna know something funny?” The assassin said, pulling the trigger on the hilt, “Blood is a rather suitable building material for weapons. So I think I’ll take yours.”

In that moment, his wound became dry. The drainage continued into his veins, and eventually, even his heart was sucked dry. The assassin took his blade and pierced his chest with it, afterwards setting fire to the hilt.

“You humans amaze me. You destroyed us back then, yet you fall this easily now. Time clearly wasn’t kind to your species.” With those words, she made her escape, making it to the rooftops. She looked out over the port, where numerous vessels hovered, and one closed in. She continued her escape, a sense of dread looming over her once more.


	2. The Blood Banker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes take on their first mission succeeding the fall of Victory, but their enemy will be far different from any they've faced before.

It seemed that as the ship docked, the entire world suddenly lit up. Which was impressive considering how deep in the planet they were.

“So, what’s first?” Kirishima questioned.

Dunban flipped a single coin, “Well, a good place to rest for tonight is a good start. Which should be a bit difficult considering how little cash we have.”

“Right, good point.”

Once they all got off the ship, they took notice of a few security drones and bots sweeping the docks, with half as many soldiers standing guard. “Well, there’s probably a good opportunity to build a resume.” Reyn shrugged.

Before anyone could respond to him, a guard came up to them. “You don’t look like normal travellers. Mind explaining your business in Suizo?”

Shulk was the first to speak, “We’re trying to make our way to Mayflower. We’re survivors of the fall of Victory.”

“Well I’ll be! I didn’t think anybody survived that disaster!”

“Well, that aside, I assume there’s a reason security is so high here?” Dunban questioned.

“In fact, there is.” The soldier slowly lowered his guard, his hand shifting away from his sword. “We’ve had numerous cases involving a single culprit. The people here have started to refer to this ghost as the Blood Banker.”

“I guess he doesn’t do withdrawals?” Reyn joked, the soldier only smirking before quickly brushing it off.

“Every homicide case involving this criminal has only come up with a body drained of all blood. The strange part is that all other bodily fluids are still present in the victim.”

“That’s where the name comes from.” Dunban hummed. Both Izuku and Kirishima looked pale.

“Could it be some sort of Quirk?” Izuku wondered.

“Doesn’t seem like it. Actually…” The soldier pulled out a notepad, “I shouldn’t be doing this, but maybe you could help. Go to the police and detective station near the north end of Suizo. You’ll know where it is when you see it.”

As they walked through the town, they started taking note of a few landmarks. One that stood out was a modern cinema near the center of town. In fact, despite the world they lived in, the towns and cities that littered the fragments were just as modern, if not more so than those of the worlds they came from.

The other thing that they took note of was the lightshow in the center of town. There was a tablet at the center of where the light seeped through the stone, that read “Here lies the center of Suizo, the Fragment of Illusion’s resting place.”

“With a landmark that has illusion in the name, you almost expect to see a bright neon sign that says ‘Don’t trust anyone’.” Reyn joked, with nobody cracking a smile. “What?”

Brushing off his horrible joke, they proceeded north to the station. Just as the soldier said, it was painfully obvious where it was. Kingdom level security was swarming around it, ID stations blocking the roads.

“Guess they’re not taking any chances.” Kirishima said with a sigh. As they came up to the station, two soldiers stepped in front of them.

“Identification.” They demanded, with Izuku stepping up.

“I have a provisional hero license. We’re here to help out with the Blood Banker case.” Izuku took out his license and gave it to the soldiers, who looked it over for a second before handing it back.

“Very well. You may enter alone.” The first soldier said.

“Wait, why can’t the rest of us come?” Kirishima inquired.

“Unless the rest of you have any form of license, you’re not permitted.” The second soldier snarled.

“Guys, it’s alright. Only one of us needs the details.” Izuku said. Shulk was visibly worried, but nobody retaliated after that. Izuku headed in followed by the second guard. Meanwhile the others stepped back.

“Yo, we’ll be at the cafe a block away, meet us there!” Kirishima shouted, Izuku giving the thumbs up.

Before they even reached the door, it was nearly pushed off its hinges by a huge man. “Two days! If you don’t catch that son of a bitch in two days, I’m sending in every soldier I can get my hands on to find them!”

‘Well that’s a warm welcome.’

The large man stomped off with two soldiers following him. “That’s the chief for you, always with the shortest fuse.” The second soldier laughed a bit at the end of his remark before straightening up. “Well, I’m sure the detective on the case is still here.”

“After that, I don’t think I want to know what the detective is like.” Izuku silently muttered. As they entered the station, Izuku saw that it was just as big of a mess as he expected. Whatever paper wasn’t scattered on the floor was stacked messily on desks and shelves, bursting out of binders.

“Damn the chief to hell! For all we know the Blood Banker could be hiding under these paper stacks!” A stack of paper obscured Izuku’s view of the woman, but from her voice alone he knew her plate was overflowing.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” the soldier asked, dodging someone rushing past him. The woman finally came into view. She looked as bad as she sounded, frizzled hair and a crazed look in her eyes, one that screamed that she hasn’t had a good night's sleep for three days straight.

“If you haven’t noticed, lieutenant, I’m a bit busy here.” She growled, saying lieutenant with a clear distaste.

“Well, I wanted to introduce this kid. He’s a licensed hero and volunteered to help out with the case.” the lieutenant said, pushing Izuku up.

“A hero freely revealing his identity like this is especially bold in these times. And more so foolish.” She only glanced at him, but she talked as if she’d observed him for an hour straight.

“Ms. Suryoku, please just give us a moment, that’s all we ask.” the lieutenant pleaded, Suryoku breathing a heavy sigh before standing up.

“This kid better be a prodigy, or else you’re helping me with this mess Mito.” Suryoku snarled.

‘Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.” Izuku thought as he hesitantly stepped forward.

“Alright kid, listen up. The Blood Banker ain’t you average, run-of-the-mill villain, they’re quick, clean, and more efficient than anything I’ve ever seen. Just today, the chief brought back the body of one of his elites, blood completely emptied out. And as you saw as you came in, if I don’t get some sort of result in two days, he’ll have my ass as a trophy.

“The only leads we got on this chick is that she only attacks in isolated locations. Doesn’t matter if it’s a civilian or a pro, it’s always the same results. So what does that mean for you, you ask? Well, to put it simply, discretion is key. Since you don’t carry any visible weapons, I assume you have an augmenting type Quirk?”

“Something like that.” Izuku said with a nod. “I have a few other friends that could help out, though some of them do rely on weapons to fight.”

“We can provide them with simple nanotech weapons, standard issue. Though, it might be smart to have one keep to the roofs as a lookout.”

“I think I have someone for that. What else do you have?” Izuku continued to scribble notes on his flip notebook.

“Well— wait, when did you start writing on that?” Suryoku asked.

“When you said ‘listen up’.” Izuku said. Suryoku blinked before continuing on.

“A-Anyway, other than that, I should say that armor is useless against her. It seems like she can pierce the thickest of armor without effort. Your best option is to be as agile as possible and wait for an opening.”

“Then… that might mean Kirishima and Reyn wouldn’t be very reliable in taking down the Blood Banker, if she can pierce any armor, their specialties are taking hits, but one hit from this woman would do them in, so it might be better for them to stay on standby for this mission, which would only leave Shulk, Dunban and I. But could we really take her on our own? It already seems like she’s fast enough as is, so the chances of just the three of us taking him down are slim, and if all three of us are there, he might run away, which would be more work for us—”

“Oh my God, shut up! Do you want to know everything we have on this guy or not?” Suryoku shouted.

“Oh! Sorry, I get a bit distracted when I strategize.”

“So, as I was saying, Blood doesn’t care about collateral damage, meaning you shouldn’t either. A few broken pipes and cracked walls are better than another funeral, so break some shit if you have to. That’s all the advice and intel I can give you. Get to it, kid.”

“It’s Deku.” Izuku said as Suryoku walked away, not even sure if his words reached her.

After a bit of navigating, Izuku found the cafe that the others were at. The subtlety the group had was nonexistent with their equipment, though Izuku couldn’t exactly say he didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. “So, what’s the scoop Midoriya?” Kirishima asked.

“Well, I’ll certainly say that this Blood Banker person sounds rather dangerous. And by dangerous, I mean ‘one scratch and you’re dead’. Her weapons can pierce the heaviest armor out there, and one scratch could drain an eighth of your blood. So sorry to say, Kirishima and Reyn, but since you guys’s specialties are tanking hits instead of dishing them out, you’re gonna have to sit this one out. That’s why it has to be Dunban, Shulk, and I. You two can play recon, or if we’re lucky, you can back one of us up if we run into trouble.”

“Alright, well these outfits and weapons aren’t exactly incognito. How do we draw this guy out?” Reyn stated.

“Suryoku said we would be getting some standard issue nanotech weapons to maintain a low profile.” Izuku answered, everyone blinking.

“I’m sorry, did you just say nanotech?” Reyn asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, what with the technological advancements Titanic has made. Every day, it seems like they pump out some sort of new technology.” Dunban stated.

“Sure would be nice to do some weapon development in a place like that. It would at least allow me to not go salvaging each time I needed supplies.” Shulk said with a laugh at the end.

“Wait, you made weapons in your world?” Izuku asked.

“Oh yeah! Shulk would make the best weapons from even the tiniest amount of material. This scrap driver here? He made it all by himself.” Reyn flaunted.

“Yeah, but Dickson still outdoes me by a mile. I still have a lot to learn, both in fighting and manufacturing.” Shulk humbly stated.

“Well, with that light sword thing, I’d say it makes up for your intermediate fighting.” Kirishima said.

“You mean the Monado? Well, as great as it is, it doesn’t come without its limitations. While it allows me to see into the future at times, there are certain visions that are set in stone. Worst still, it’s hard to tell which is which, and not all are crystal clear. Besides that, it can’t harm people, so when it comes to fighting crime, I’m pretty useless.”

“But you can still cut through the toughest metals, right? I’d say that makes up for it.” Izuku said, Shulk just shrugging and taking a sip of his drink.

“I guess.”

“Besides, not many people have the ability of foresight, or anything that’s a semblance of future vision. It could come in handy more than once, and probably save our butts even more.” Kirishima optimistically stated.

“Alright, enough of the flattery, otherwise Shulk’s head’ll explode. When did they say they’ll outfit us with the equipment for the mission?” Reyn asked.

“I think she mentioned sometime tomorrow when I left. The police have this place pretty well stationed, but it might be best if we hang near the station just to be safe, and check in at noon.” Izuku said.

“Sounds good to me. Problem now is finding a good place to rest for tonight.” Reyn shrugged.

“Well, there are plenty of alleys in this city, and I’m willing to bet some of them are sanitary enough for a good night’s rest.” Dunban suggested.

“C’mon, surely you can do better than that.” Kirishima said with distaste.

“Well, what would you rather do? Break into an inn and sleep there without paying rent?”

“Yeah, not exactly the first morally correct choice on the list.” Reyn said with a sigh. “But then again, alleys aren’t exactly safe either with the Blood Banker out there.”

“Actually…” Izuku slyly said as he placed an envelope down, with a few twenty dollar bills inside, “Suryoku gave me an advance pay for agreeing to help out. Should be enough to rent a room for a night.”

“Now we’re talkin’! Say, the force in this world ain’t half bad!” Reyn cheered. “Compared to Square-tache, this Suryoku is a saint!”

With a satisfying feeling in the group, they headed off to the nearest inn. Nearby, the Blood Banker creeped on them, observing their conversation and actions.

While they disgusted her, she couldn’t help but feel envy towards them.


	3. Distorting the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes have their first encounter with the assassin known as the Blood Banker.

“Why does recon have to be so boring?” Reyn whined as he walked the roads of Suizo. His clothes fit the culture of the city. Now he looked like a regular bodybuilder.

“Stop complaining, Reyn. This is the job we got hired to do, so we do it.” Shulk said over the OverWatch.

“So long as the force is paying for our ship rides, I say we don’t have much room to complain.” Dunban added.

“Fine.” Reyn sighed as he picked up the pace.

“Also, if you guys would keep it down while on the job, it might make said job a bit easier.” Dunban said in a more hushed tone.

“Shulk, anything on your end?” Izuku asked.

“Nothing from the Monado, nor do I see any suspicious activity.” Shulk responded, checking the Monado over as if adjusting the angle would activate a vision.

“Keep us posted. The smallest detail could be the difference between life and death.” Izuku said, continuing his patrol. The distorted clouds swarmed above, their abnormal appearance common, and yet intimidating. “Kirishima, how’s everything on your end?”

“Yeah, it’s going great. Not a thing to report yet. I’m just trying to memorize some landmarks in case Shulk sees something.” Kirishima replied.

“Not a bad idea. Could come in handy.” Izuku said.

“Guys, Dunban isn’t responding!” Reyn exclaimed, everyone’s hearts skipping a beat.

“Shulk, it’s now or never!” Izuku cried.

“I know!” Shulk said, holding the Monado tightly. “C’mon, please. Tell me we can save him.” Then the vision came to him. He saw Dunban fighting a woman with a double-edged, highly advanced blade. They were both in a wide alley, but only a bit of sunlight could seep into their makeship battleground. Then the moment came, Dunban was cut at his right wrist, the arm he couldn’t use. “I saw it! He’s in an alley!”

“Where was he patrolling?” Izuku asked.

“West of the port, near the shopping district.” Kirishima answered.

“You’re the closest one, Kirishima. Get over there and find him!” Shulk said. “Reyn, head toward the police department! You’re on the east side, so you won’t get there in time, but you can at least send some units over there to secure the area.”

“Shulk, do you remember any details? Did you see any street signs or landmarks?” Kirishima asked.

He thought back on what he saw. He remembered seeing a large store sign that said “Fidel’s Apparel”.

“Right, Fidel’s in the shopping district. On my way!” Kirishima said, bolting for the west side.  
———  
Their blades seemed to ignite the air, their heat of battle making the stuffy alleyway even more uninhabitable. “So I guess you’re the Blood Banker, then.” Dunban said.

“If that is what you wish to call me.” She wasted no more breath as she swooped in once more.   
Dunban was able to react to her movements, and easily avoided the slash. As he slid under her, he stabbed upward and grazed her leg, but the cloth ripped off to reveal armor underneath, and the blade bounced off.

“Armor? And so strong, as well!”

“My equipment is more advanced than yours, human!” She came at him once more, but this time slashing at a water pipe, spraying it into the air and obscuring his vision. She came down from above, her blade aimed for his neck. However, his agility betrayed his appearance, the blade only managing to take a small chunk of the fabric from the cloth over his ravaged right arm. “I see. You’re the one who would have the audacity to claim the power of a god.”

“In order to save my people.” Dunban corrected, his next attack finding its mark. Their blades clashed, nearly matched in speed.

‘This is the first time someone has ever gone at my speed. This Dunban is the real deal.’ Blood parried yet another strike. Dunban’s each attack came at sonic speeds, so fast that she could barely respond . Eventually, Dunban’s old wounds caught up to him. His aching arm forced him to retreat, but that moment gave Blood the opening she needed.

Her aim was set on Dunban’s wounded arm. One slice and victory was hers. Just before the blade could connect, Kirishima rushed in and hit the blade upward, delivering a powerful strike to her chest in the follow-up. “Looks like I got here just in time.”

Dunban stood in awe, his heart slowly returning to a normal pace. “Kirishima! How did you know I was here?”

“Shulk had a vision of your battle. We eventually deduced where you were, and I was nearby. The others are on their way, and Reyn is making his way to the police.” Kirishima replied, hardening his entire body with his hands flat. “Though I wish Midoriya or Shulk were here instead. They’re better at this kind of stuff.”

“We’ll simply have to make do. I’ll use my Arts to keep her eyes on me, you just wait for an opening and-” Dunban’s voice was cut off by the pain returning in his arm, which seemed to surge through his entire body.

“No, you’re too exhausted. I’ll make the openings for you.” Kirishima said, Dunban slowly starting to recover.

“Very well. Don’t focus on defense of offense. Agility is key here, but her movements are fast, even for me. You’ll need to be careful not to overexert yourself.” Dunban stated.

“Yes, sir!”

Blood eventually got up, finally recovered from Kirishima’s counter. “Two against one. Not exactly my style, but I can’t leave you two alive.”

“Too bad you won’t get the chance again! Dunban, on me!”

“Let’s go!”

As if in perfect sync, Dunban ran along the pipelines while Kirishima bolted for Blood, his hardening acting as a sword as his parries were enough to block her attacks while also quick enough to not wear down his Quirk. Her swords did occasionally chip his hardening, but he could power through them.

‘My blades aren’t working on him. Is this his power? No. It’s something else.’ Blood thought as she avoided yet another of Dunban’s life-threatening slashes. Suddenly, she felt a massive wave of pain surge through her, as if her entire being was trying to tear itself apart. Her eyes widened as the pain came over her, but while she was distracted by that, Kirishima was able to smash her blade into pieces with one hit.

“Now then, you’ll be coming with us—” Kirishima’s words cut off when the entire sky darkened.

“Dammit, why now?” Blood complained, quickly shooting a small blade from the other end of her hilt, piercing Kirishima’s hardening with ease.

“Kirishima!” Dunban exclaimed, severing the cable that linked the blade and the hilt.

“Sorry.” Blood said as she ran away, fleeing to the rooftops and out of sight. Before the two could pursue, a world shaking boom emitted from the distorted clouds, and suddenly all light returned.

“What the crap was that?” Kirishima pondered before getting a call over the OverWatch.

“Guys… you might wanna come check this out.” Reyn said.

“Kirishima is injured, but Blood got away.” Dunban said.

“Dunban! Thank God you’re still alive!” Shulk cheered.

“What’s happening over there, Reyn?” Kirishima asked.

“Like I said, you need to see this.”

Dunban wrapped up Kirishima’s wound before they headed to where Reyn was. The sight before them was a phenomenon unlike any they’ve seen before. Rays of energy surged from the gap in the center of town, and connected to other rays of energy spewing from all the other continents, as if creating a maze in the sky. It appeared as if the universe itself was trying to slowly piece together what remained of the world.

“I’ll say this much, Bionis got nothin’ on this.” Reyn laughed.

Izuku’s sight slowly shifted towards Dunban’s arm, the questions he had when they first met returning once more. “I’ve been wondering for a while. Dunban, what happened to your arm?”

“You see Shulk’s Monado?” Dunban asked, Izuku’s gaze turning to Shulk’s weapon. The Monado, a concealed blade of light with a circle of crystal clear glass in the middle. “A long time ago, our people, the Homs of the Bionis, were under siege from the forces of Mechonis. Their numbers and power were overwhelming for us. We simply couldn’t take them on with our current level of technology. The Monado was our only weapon capable of defeating the Mechon, but the use of it came with a heavy price. It slowly ate away at my body, and ravaged my arm, rendering it useless.”

Izuku started to look nervously at Shulk. “Then why do you use it then?”

“Because it doesn’t have the same effect on me, for some reason. In fact, it seems to do more for me than it ever has done for Dunban. For instance, I can see visions of the future while Dunban couldn’t when he had it.” Shulk explained.

“So the Monado lets you see the future. I thought that was just your Quirk.” Izuku hummed.

“I’ve done a year’s worth of research on the Monado since the battle on Sword Valley. I’m certain I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of the secrets that hide within it.” Shulk stated.

“That’s so cool, though! With what power you have now with the Monado, you’d be almost unbeatable in battle against a regular villain! And with your visions, no run-of-the-mill opponent would be able to win!” Izuku said excitedly. Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban all shared the same sad look.

“It’s… not as easy as it sounds.” Shulk said.

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah, visions of the future sounds hella useful, especially when you can counteract them!” Kirishima said.

“The burden sounds light on paper, sure, but in practice, it greatly outweighs most.” Shulk shed a single tear as he said this. Izuku could feel his sorrow through his aura. He wanted to know why Shulk said that, but he knew deep down that it would only make the sorrow greater.

For the moment, Izuku decided to leave it as is.

{Meanwhile, in the forest outside the border of Suizo}

“Dammit. That distortion came faster than I expected.” Blood said, her entire body still aching from what happened. “I thought humans were supposed to be selfish to their very core, but that boy… damn them. I’ll have to find their Monado and shatter it if I’m to finally kill them.” After that last statement, she chuckled to herself. “Easier said than done, right?”

Once more, a feeling from deep within herself began to surface. To a normal person, it would have been longing, envy for something or someone. For her, it was like daggers were being thrusted into her brain and heart, as if someone from her deep subconscious was trying to shatter her current self and take control of her body.

“Damn you, Izel.”

[One hour later, Suizo police department]  
“And that’s about all we got from this.” Dunban finished his explanation as Suryoku twirled a pencil.

“So the blades themselves don’t pierce armor, it’s a small blade that shoots out from her hilt. That’s a huge help, now we can better train our men against those kinds of attacks. Oh, and also glad to see you’re not dead.” Suryoku said as she tossed the pencil on the table.

Reyn decided to pipe up, “So you said you’d help us out if we helped you with the case, right?”

“Not necessarily, but I’d say that surviving is worth a payment by itself. What’s your price?” Suryoku questioned as she got up.

“We need to get to Titanic. I have a message from All Might that I need to tell the leaders there in person.” Izuku answered, holding the stone in his pocket.

“Titanic, eh? Well, the distortion clouds are rather dense in that area at this time of the year. Despite Titanic’s massive advancements in technology, we still don’t have a way through them.” Suryoku said, all of them looking rather confused.

“I’m sorry, distortion clouds?” Shulk asked.

“What, have you guys been here a day and a half? Nobody knows the origin of them, nor their source, but you won’t find anything more dangerous here. A single breath in one could do anything to you, from frying you from the inside out to making said insides vanish into another dimension or wherever the crap they go. Basically unless you’re suicidal, stay away from them.”

“For someone who stays cooped up in a station all day, you sure know a lot about the world.” Reyn said with a laugh.

“Unlike you lot, I’ve actually lived here for a time, and this stuff is just common knowledge. After all, the distortion clouds are the only reason we have sunlight or warmth. They also bring natural weather cycles like rain and snow, so in a way, they’re both a blessing and a curse.” Suryoku shifted over to the table now, “Anyway, the clouds are pretty dense around Titanic at this time of the year. Best you can do for now is move toward Mayflower, it’s the closest kingdom to Titanic besides Dreadnaught, and they’re… well, a bit more on the militaristic side, and with you being freelance heroes, you’re better off not going there.”

“Do you ever talk in short sentences?” Reyn asked half jokingly, Shulk bumping him on the arm.

“So you’ll get us to Mayflower?” Izuku asked.

“Not exactly. The ship to Mayflower got delayed due to a random influx in the distortion clouds after that distortion earlier. Plus, any personal military vessel is currently in use to see if the distortion produced anything. So the fastest way to Mayflower now is be taking a detour through the Celeste Ruins near the surface. If nothing else, you’ll at least get a glimpse of the world left behind.”

“World left behind, eh? So this planet wasn’t always like this?” Dunban contemplated.

“That reminds me. What exactly is on the surface?” Shulk asked.

“Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. All we know is that it’s some sort of wasteland. Those who do come back from it describe unintelligible tales, as if their minds were broken there. In my professional opinion, stay away from there.”

“Good rule of thumb. Let’s not go to this crazy place.” Reyn nodded.

“So it’s Celeste Ruins. Are there any outposts there, or do we just head straight through?” Dunban asked.

“Only on the other side. You’ll probably have to leave at night, get a good rest on the ship before you get there. The creatures that reside there are a bit hostile, so you should prepare accordingly. If there’s anything you need to prepare before heading off, I suggest doing it now. Otherwise, meet with the chief of police at the portside.”

As they stepped outside, there was a storm of soldiers rushing out the gates just past them. From chatter that they could just barely pick up as they passed, it seems that there was a distortional arrival on the continent, and it was apparently extremely hostile.

“We should help out with that, right?” Shulk asked.

“It would be unwise for Kirishima and I to join you. We’re still worn out from our battle earlier.” Dunban pointed out.

“Yeah. We’ll go on ahead then, you two wait here.” Izuku said with a nod, the remaining three rushing off with the soldiers. Already in the distance, they could hear, and more importantly feel, the sounds of explosions.

“If that thing gets to the city, it’s gonna be bad. Reyn, Izuku, get ready for a chain attack!” Shulk shouted over the ever increasing volume of the explosions.

“Right!” The two of them said in unison. But as they came closer, Izuku heard an all too familiar voice.

“Go to HELL!!” The voice shouted, a barrage narrowly evading the trio.

“Wait… Kacchan?!” Izuku exclaimed, dropping his guard for a second. That single second was the worst moment for him to do so, as an explosion sent him flying back. As the soldiers lay in exhaustion, the source of the explosions was revealed as a blond-haired boy, with one arm slightly bloodied with a large clawmark in his upper arm.

“You better scram, extras!” The boy shouted ferociously.

“Kacchan, stop! It’s me!” Izuku shouted. That was the worst possible move, as the boy shot for Izuku with amazing speed.

“Deku! What the hell are you doing here, you damn nerd?!”

“Oi! Let him go, explosion boy!” Reyn exclaimed, pointing his driver at Bakugo.

“Wait, don’t attack! He’s a friend—”

“Like hell I’m your friend!”

“I’m warning you, blondie!” The pistons in his driver began to activate, Izuku starting to panic now.

“Seriously, Kacchan, we’re not exactly in a position to screw around!” Izuku exclaimed, for a moment losing his temper.

“Bakugo, wait up!” Kirishima shouted. Bakugo suddenly eased up upon seeing Kirishima, letting Izuku go. Reyn and Shulk slowly lowered their weapons as well.

“You couldn’t have come here sooner, stupid hair?” Bakugo asked.

“Good to see you haven’t changed either, Bakugo.” Kirishima said with a sigh of relief.

“Alright, you wanna get us up to speed here? Who the heck is Napalm over here?” Reyn asked.

“You literally just heard my name, you moron!” Bakugo shouted.

“We’ll have to save that for later.” Izuku said, pointing to the now recovering soldiers.

“Oh. Right. This is gonna be awkward.” Kirishima groaned.


	4. Voyage to the Celeste Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a new addition to the party, our heroes set sail to the mountain island known as the Celeste Ruins, where there, their bonds will deepen further, and among that, a new power awaits them.

“Okay, we know how it looks—”

“You’d better give me a damn good reason why I shouldn’t lock this bastard in solitary confinement! Assault on multiple officers, destruction of property, and disrupting the peace! Three charges that I take personal pleasure in punishing!” The chief of police shouted, his face looking like it would burst like a watermelon any second. No doubt his rage already has double digits in brain cell casualties.

Izuku nervously spoke up, “If you let him talk—”

“Was I asking you, Broccoli Hair?!” The chief shouted. Izuku was indecisive on whether to cry or laugh.

“As I was saying, it’s kinda hard to tell enemies apart when you’re disorientated from interdimensional travel. Not like your dumbass would understand.” Bakugo said very plainly. The veins in the chief’s head bulging further. Before he could act, though, Suryoku came from behind and placed her hand on the back of his head. Just like that, he hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, never looking more peaceful.

“Sorry about him, he gets like that when his people get hurt. He’s kind in his own way.” Suryoku said.

“Kinda like another hothead I know.” Kirishima said.

“At least I don’t try to use my brain like a time bomb.” Bakugo scoffed.

“I doubt he’ll be very happy with me once he wakes up though.” Suryoku said, handing the group boarding tickets, “You all should probably get going now. After you get through the Celeste Ruins, take a boat to Liseran. It’s a town around the seventh layer. They should have a direct ship to Mayflower.”

“Hold up, does anyone want to tell me what the crap we’re even doing?” Bakugo asked.

“Oh yeah. I guess you’ll be travelling with us for a while, right?” Shulk said. Bakugo simply shrugged.

“Not like I got much of a choice. This place isn’t exactly gonna be the most welcoming to me now.”

“We’ll catch you up to speed on the way to the docks. Let’s get going.” Kirishima said.

As they took off from the police department, they could hear the distinct noise of the chief shouting even from halfway across the town.

By the time they reached the docks, Bakugo was mostly caught up. They boarded the ship that was destined for the Celeste Ruins, though its appearance was far different from the one they arrived on. While the previous one was much like a yacht, this ship was more like a luxury ferry boat.

As they departed from Suizo, Shulk stood on the edge of the boat, looking out over the void. In his head, he could still see that one night back on Colony 9. His own screams dwarfed by his friend’s. He let two stray tears fall from his cheeks and into the seemingly endless pit.

Izuku couldn’t hold himself back anymore, and came up to Shulk. “You said before, that your visions can also be a curse. What did you mean by that?”

Shulk wiped his face of the moisture, using his free arm to lean on the rail. “Back on my world, us Homs lived on the body of a deceased titan known as the Bionis. Reyn, Dunban and I lived in Colony 9, which was on the Bionis’ Calf. For a long time, we lived in peace. I did research on the Monado, and made weapons from whatever fell from Sword Valley.”

“Sword Valley?” Izuku questioned.

“The sword of the Mechonis, the titan who opposed the Bionis eons ago, when they both were alive. Anyway, we thought we would live in peace forever. But we were just kidding ourselves. The Mechon attack on our colony was a wake-up call. It was also when I first used the Monado. We thought we might actually defeat them.” Shulk took a pause, taking a shaky breath as his body trembled. “But then… that faced Mechon… I couldn’t do anything.”

Izuku felt his sorrow, greater than it was back at Suizo. He didn’t say anything, and let Shulk silently grieve.

“The faced Mechon… killed my childhood friend, Fiora. Right in front of all three of us. We couldn’t move, and what’s worse… the Monado showed me a vision of it all. If… If I could have moved… maybe I could have…”

For a moment, that single moment, Izuku could completely empathize with Shulk. He looked at his own scarred arm, and could only remember the night they all came together. “Shulk… I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t be.” Shulk said, Izuku looking back at him, a smile now on his face, though a tear stream was still visible on his face. “The past is as is, nobody can change it. For a while, Reyn and I were okay with that. But, if she didn’t save us that night, then none of us would be here today. I think that’s what Dunban meant back then, when he said to cherish the life that Fiora gave us. So, we decided to not abandon our futures because of the past.”

Though his words and face said that he was fine, Izuku could tell that Shulk wasn’t completely over her death. Once more, he took out the stone in his pocket, the glass shards in it now refracting the light emanated from the distortion clouds. “What’s that?” Shulk asked.

“A stone that All Might gave to me before Victory fell. He told me that it’s a reminder that no matter how bleak the situation is, that hope will always be with you.” Izuku said, adjusting the refracting light in various ways. “I thought… maybe you could use some hope as well.”

Shulk simply stared out into space for a while, then burst out laughing. “Sorry, it’s just… you’re simply amazing. Even in these dark times, when certainty of success is fading, you’re still holding out hope when everyone else pretty much gave up. It’s what made me join you in the first place. And thinking about it, it’s probably why everyone else follows you, too.”

Izuku blushed a bit, not knowing how to respond to that. “I never thought I’d be hearing that from you. You’re also amazing. To be able to use a weapon like the Monado so easily, and even use its full power right off the bat.” He rolled the stone over, covering the glass with his right hand. His scars seemed to be even more prominent now.

“How did you get those scars?” Shulk asked.

Izuku sighed, putting the stone back into his pocket. “My Quirk is… a unique case. It didn’t manifest until late in middle school. At first, I was really excited that I had a Quirk, but when I applied to U.A. High, I found out that this Quirk was way too powerful for my body to handle. It broke my body every time I used it. And then…”

Izuku could imagine himself back at the tournament. His battle with Todoroki was still clear in his mind. Then it shifted to his battle with Muscular. “Back then, I was sure that it was the end. Even when I used the full extent of my power. Honestly, I think I would have if it wasn’t for everyone who helped me get to where I am.” Shulk let out a chuckle. “What?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s just that… that sounds very similar to my life. I was honestly pretty useless until I got the Monado. And something tells me that this isn’t even the full power of the Monado. I’ve got a lot to learn about it. So many secrets to discover,” Shulk said, his face no longer showing any semblance of sorrow.

Izuku gave him a warm smile at that statement, saying, “Then how about we focus on making each other stronger? We both have goals to work toward, and expectations to meet.”

Shulk shifted his weight off the rail and faced Izuku, meeting Izuku’s smile with his own. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Meanwhile, Bakugo overheard their conversation from the top deck. Dammit, since when did Deku multiply? He thought to himself.

The voyage itself took around a day, but at last, they arrived at the Celeste Ruins. It wasn’t like any other continent they had seen, though. Where most of the fertile ones have been flat on the surface for the most part, this continent climbed upward, and seemed to span for miles. It was like a floating mountain.

Their landing area was mostly on the exterior, but as it began to go inward, the group could make out very large spider webs covering the top of the caves. “I hope there aren’t any Arachnos in there.” Shulk muttered.

“From what I heard, this cave system hosts a fragment known as the Fragment of Arachnids. It’s not very powerful, but it gives birth to formidable Arachno-like creatures.” Dunban said.

“Oh great, now I’m starting to get flashbacks to Tephra Cave.” Reyn started to rapidly tap his foot in anxiety. “Let’s try to get in and out as fast as we can, yeah?”

“No complaints from me.” Shulk nodded.

“I say we kill any of them that get in our way.” Bakugo grunted.

“I don’t think we should rely on heavy explosions here.” Shulk said.

“Why the hell not?!” Bakugo exclaimed, Shulk pointed out the rugged structures of the caves.

“The cave doesn’t look to be very stable. One poorly aimed explosion, and we’ll likely have a cave in.” 

“Alright, fine. I’ll stick to using AP Shot.” Bakugo sighed.

“The rest of us should also try to restrain ourselves. Kacchan’s power is the most dangerous in this situation, but we all have destructive powers in our arsenal.” Izuku stated.

“In that case, I’d better restrain from using Monado Buster.” Shulk hummed to himself.

'I should also try to keep One For All at 5%. I think 8% could also be safe, but I should only use it for extreme cases.' Izuku thought. It wasn’t long before they finally docked. As they headed for the caverns, they immediately felt a pressure that emitted from the tunnels, as if the island was trying to collapse in on itself.

“Well, that’s not ominous at all.” Reyn said sarcastically. They steeled their nerves as they entered, the webs like confetti falling on their heads as if trying to add themselves among the hair count. Bakugo was using every ounce of restraint to keep himself from igniting every web in the cave.

But as they delved deeper within, something ominous slowly crept up on them. They began to realize that the cavern was uncomfortably quiet. Among that, for how much the tunnels were covered in webs, they had a lacking amount of spiders or arachnos.

“This isn’t right. I thought the caves would be swarming,” Bakugo said.

“Yeah. But we haven’t seen a single spider-like thing the entire time we’ve been here.” Kirishima agreed with a nod. All of them were on edge, Shulk with one hand placed on the Monado’s hilt. Then, in that moment, Shulk had a vision.

“Wait!” Shulk said, stopping dead in his tracks. Everyone else followed suit.

“Did you see something?” Reyn asked.

“Yes. There are two girls in a wide opening. They’re surrounded by arachnos. They’re going to die if we don’t find them.” Shulk said quickly, activating the Monado, the blade of blue light illuminating the caves. “We have to hurry! Listen for anything!”

They all remained dead quiet, their heartbeats echoing through their ears. Then, in the distance, they heard a scream. Thankfully, there were only two paths to go down, and the scream clearly came from the one on the left. Without wasting any more precious time, they ran down the tunnel.

“What’s all this crap with seeing stuff anyway?” Bakugo asked.

“Shulk can use the Monado to see the future. If what he saw comes true, then we’ll most likely be going right into an arachno nest.” Reyn explained, taking his driver in hand.

“And you expect me to believe that?” Bakugo scoffed.

“Believe what you want, you heard the scream, and that means someone’s in danger.” Dunban declared, starting to pull ahead of the group. Then he heard it, this time more clearly.

“Someone! Anyone! Help us!” a girl shouted. Now the arachnos’ war cries were clear in the air.

“Wait. That voice..!” Izuku gasped, green lightning covering his body as his muscles began to strengthen. With one leap, he swooped ahead of the group, and he could see the clearing. There were the arachnos, with two girls at the center of the swarm. One of them was all too familiar to him. “Uraraka!!”

Shulk then had another vision. Izuku would jump in, and from above, the giant Arachno would impale him. “Wait! Izuku!” Shulk shouted, as a symbol for ‘speed’ christened the center of the Monado. Without thinking, Shulk swiped through the air, imbuing everyone with the power of the Monado.

Izuku’s speed increased exponentially, enough for him to dodge the Titan Arachno’s strike and deliver a fatal blow to the arachnos around the girls.

“Deku! Why are you here?” Uraraka asked.

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll take care of these guys. Get that girl to safety, now!” Izuku responded, now facing the Titan Arachno.

“Over here, you two!” Kirishima shouted, pushing through the arachnos with his Hardening.

“Kirishima as well?!” Uraraka exclaimed.

“Go with him! We got this!” Izuku shouted over the cries of the arachnos. Bakugo and Reyn leaped in, Bakugo using his AP Shot to take out the surrounding arachnos, and Reyn providing additional support to Kirishima.

“Come on, guys! Let’s show these suckers that the future is ours!” Reyn shouted.

“Alright then Shulk, let’s give them a warm Homs welcome!” Dunban cheered, his sword raised. The battle then commenced with the Titan Arachno.

“Deku,” Bakugo said, blasting back an approaching arachno, “listen up. Those two can take a lame boss like that, but not with all these bastards on them. You take out the left side, I got the right. Even you can do something as simple as that.”

“Right!” Izuku nodded, his power increasing as his muscles bulked even further. Reyn is protecting Uraraka and that other girl. So the least we can do is lighten both sides’ loads. To do that, I’ll have to go from 5% to 8%.

Izuku started his assault with a roundhouse kick, launching the arachno into the air, letting him get a clear shot of its abdomen. With one swift kick, he was able to finish it off, sending its limp body at two other arachnos.

“Looks like they got us covered, Dunban!” Shulk said, holding the Monado firmly in the Titan Arachno’s direction.

“Then let's give it hell.” Dunban wasted no time in getting close, slicing at the legs with Gale Slash. As he did this, Shulk charged to its side, and used Air Slash, the attack slowing down the beast’s movements. The brief opening was enough for Dunban to use Steel Strike, which sent the Arachno to the ground.

“Shaker Edge!” Shulk exclaimed as he twirled and delivered a staggering blow. While Shulk went to the back to use Back Slash, Dunban used Worldly Slash, which gave Shulk a good weak point to attack at.

Yet despite their seemingly perfect synergy, the Titan Arachno remained standing. “It’s still standing after all that? Fine, let’s see how you like this!” Shulk shouted, the Monado’s blade growing in size. I can’t use it at full power, but this should be enough! With the spin of his arms, he shouted “Monado Buster!!” and brought the blade down on the beast. Unfortunately, that was enough to get the attention of the Titan Arachno.

Shulk had a vision of it using a powerful attack, too much for Monado Shield to cover. With only seconds to work with, Shulk used Shadow Eye after Dunban used Blinding Blossom. Now that the attention was shifted back, Shulk used Stream Edge. From seemingly nowhere, Reyn came out and used Wild Down to topple it. “Reyn! What about—”

“Kirishima’s got them covered. Plus with Izuku and Bakugo providing support, I think he can handle himself.” Reyn said.

“Alright then. Let’s get ready for a chain attack!” Dunban shouted over the roaring shouts of the group and the arachnos. Shulk started the attack with Shaker Edge, inflicting daze on the beast. Dunban followed it up with Gale Slash, blood leaking from where he struck. To finish, Reyn unleashed the tension built up by the pistons in his driver, using Sword Drive to cause heavy damage.

“It’s not over yet!” Izuku leaped into the air, readying a downward kick. “Manchester Smash!!” He shouted as he landed his assault square on the abdomen of the Titan Arachno. The pressure built up became too great, and it burst open, the Titan’s guts spilling on the ground. It gave one last deafening cry before its body crumpled to the ground, its body vanishing in a mist of ether.

With their leader defeated, the remaining arachno scattered and vanished into cracks in the walls. “Cowards! Come back here!” Bakugo shouted.

“Leave it, Bakugo. We took down their leader, so if they do come after us, they’ll be uncoordinated. For now, let’s get these two to a safe area.” Dunban said, heading over to the two girls.

“Oh, yeah! Uraraka!” Izuku exclaimed, following Dunban to Kirishima and the two. “I’m glad you both are safe.”

“Yeah, thank goodness you all came when you did.” Uraraka said with a nervous smile. “Uh, speaking of which… who are those three?” She pointed to Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban, who each gave their respective greetings.

“We’re on our way to Mayflower for now. We’re making our way to Titanic so I can give them a message from All Might.” Izuku said.

“Huh. Wait, All Might’s here too? Where is he? And why isn’t he with you guys?” Uraraka asked. Izuku’s face suddenly dropped. His fist clenched tightly, saying, “He… All Might’s…”

“Let’s not focus on that. Who’s this other girl with you?” Reyn asked.

“Oh, well, I don’t really know. I found her like this and she hasn’t woken up since.” Uraraka explained, lifting the limp girl’s arm to try and carry her again.

“Here, let me carry her.” Reyn said, easily slinging the girl on his back.

“So… how did you get here, anyway?” Izuku asked Uraraka, her head lowering a bit.

“Honestly, I have no idea. One minute, we were at the raid on the Chie Hassakai, the next I was in this cave system.” Uraraka answered.

'The Hassakai raid. That means she and I came from the same time period, but ended up here at different times.' Izuku thought. Another troubling question came to him. “You’re sure you don’t remember anything else in between?”

“Not really. I remember… just, darkness and nothing else.” Uraraka said.

So, she really doesn’t remember it too? “That reminds me. Kirishima, Kacchan, do you guys remember anything before you came here?”

“Not really. Like Uraraka said, I just remember the Hassakai raid, then darkness.” Kirishima said. Bakugo just shrugged with a grunt.

'Does that mean I’m the only one who remembers what happened?' Izuku looked to Shulk and the others, but he already pried enough on his past. He didn’t want to press any more information from them. 'But, I can’t just tell them. How would they believe me? Something as outlandish as—'

“Yo, Izuku! You coming?” Reyn shouted.

“Oh! Sorry!” Izuku exclaimed, running to catch up with the group, with his emotions evermore indecisive.  
A/N  
Hope everyone is doing well with the COVID-19 outbreak. While the feedback isn’t as spontaneous as I had hoped, I still do appreciate all the help that I’ve been given to make this story as alive as possible. I certainly couldn’t have gotten to this point without the help of the fine people over at the Qrow’s Nest and Writers Anonymous Discord servers. And I feel I should clarify this now before I get carried away: this fanfic will include several different fandoms and original elements. For those that don’t think they can follow with all that, don’t worry, I am dedicated to making the story and characters as comprehensible as possible, especially for those uninitiated with said various fandoms. With all that said, I pray for everyone’s safety during these trying times, and I hope that this story can help you all get through it!


	5. A New Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the heroes venture further into the Celeste Ruins, they encounter more potential allies for their journey. But some new encounters might spell a weakness in the universe as a whole.

Two hours passed before they finally found a safe area to set up camp. Uraraka was barely standing, and the girl that Uraraka was with was still unconscious and being carried by Reyn, his legs also about to cave in. Once they established the area, they wrapped the girl in a thin blanket and set her on the ground. “Yeesh, if I knew we’d be walking for two hours, I would have let one of you guys carry her.” Reyn said with a sigh as he finally gave his muscles a break.

“We should probably still have someone on watch. I’ll take the first one, since I’m still wide awake.” Izuku said, setting his backpack on the wall and sitting on an elevated surface.

“In that case, everyone, get some rest. We’ll set out again nine hours from now so everyone has a chance to get a good night’s rest.” Dunban said, taking a sip of water.

Reyn sat down close to Bakugo, who simply sighed in annoyance. Reyn finally voiced his mind, “You know, an attitude like that is putting a lot of weight on the team.”

“Whatever.” Bakugo swallowed a ration while adjusting his position. “I don’t get you. How can you stand being around those nerds?”

“You mean Shulk and Izuku? Well, Shulk’s an easy one. He’s useless on his own, so I watch his back. As for Izuku… I dunno. I guess I just see a little bit of Shulk in him. They act alike so often, so I guess it’s just natural.”

Bakugo gave him an awkward look. “You’re telling me you hang around them because of that?”

“Well,” Reyn took a ration and swallowed it, taking a sip of water immediately after, “it’s not the only reason. Just the one that comes off the top of my head.” He then looked over at Shulk. “They both possess an awesome power, don’t you think? Way more awesome than I could ever do, that’s for sure. Your powers— those Quirks, right? If us Homs had that kind of power, I bet we could have taken the Mechon on no problem.”

“It’s not as easy as you think.” Bakugo took a glance at Izuku, then back at his own hands. “Even with our Quirks, we have limits. They don’t just use energy from nowhere, they’re physical powers. It takes decades for some people to gain even the smallest amount of potential from their Quirk, meanwhile you have people like me. My Quirk was useful from the get-go, and it only got stronger from there.” He turned back to Reyn, “So you see, Quirks aren’t the endgame.”

“Huh. I guess it makes sense that Quirks are good and all on paper, but more complicated in practice. Still, it’d be pretty neat if the rest of us could get Quirks.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath, if I were you. Quirks are hereditary, which means they only can manifest if Quirk genes are there at birth. But, with how advanced the technology is in this world, perhaps they found a way to create artificial Quirk genes.” Kirishima suggested, taking the spot across from the two.

“That’s a pipe dream. It’d have to take the combined intellect of the entire multiverse to get to that point.” Bakugo said, taking another sip of water. But a thought lingered in his mind. They don’t rely on Quirks, and yet they’re that strong? Bakugo glanced at both of them, then back down. If they really did get Quirks, they’d be monsters.

Reyn took a look back at Izuku, who was leaning against a tall stalagmite, thinking, Didn’t he say that his Quirk didn’t manifest until he was 15? If that’s the case, then…

The night was quiet after a while, though how quiet it was was rather disturbing. There wasn’t even an echo of other life, as if they were the only ones in the mountain. And it was especially difficult to see at this time, though Izuku’s eyes eventually adjusted to it. The only things that illuminated the dark caves were the occasional ether lamp and whatever sunlight could make its way through the cracks in the rocks.

Izuku would constantly look back at the others, his gaze always eventually coming to the Monado, a blue light flowing through the blade, which slightly illuminated the area. “I have to admire Shulk. He didn’t try to hide anything about the Monado, even telling us about his visions of the future. Meanwhile there’s me…” Izuku silently muttered to himself. I wish I could tell them about One For All. But for right now, Kacchan is the only one who knows. And without All Might’s guidance…

He checked his watch to see an hour had already passed. With a tired sigh, he went to wake up the next watch just before passing out on a blanket. When he awoke again, he saw everyone packing up, but above that, the girl from before was finally conscious. Her light purple eyes gazed at him with a strange warmth as he slowly woke up.

“She’s awake?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah, woke up before any of us. For someone who passed out in a cave, she’s strangely well collected.” Kirishima said, Izuku heading for her.

“Good to see you’re up! Who are you?” The girl blinked at him, turning her head a bit.

“My name… it’s Metastra.” The girl finally said, looking as if remembering her name was a herculean task.

“You can just call me Deku. Do you know why you were here?”

Once more, she stared off into space, her eyes starting to lose focus. “Why… I’m here… why was I here?”

“She must’ve hit her head or something. Do you remember anything at all?” Izuku asked, Metastra’s eyes looking upward.

“Oh! I remember I was here with my brother! His name is Eraclese!”

“Eraclese… we’ll have to remember that name. Maybe he’ll still have his memories and be able to take you off our hands. Er, wait that came out wrong.” Metastra just laughed at his awkwardness.

“C’mon, you two. Stop screwing around and let's get moving!” Bakugo shouted, tossing Izuku his bag, which only slammed in his face. A silent “ow” leaked from his lips as he stood back up. Ochako offered to carry Metastra again, but she declined.

“It’s okay. I can walk by myself.” Metastra said, shakily rising to her feet. It was then that Izuku noticed just how malnourished she was. Her limbs were practically twigs, but strangely enough, her skin looked like it got the best skincare routine in the universe.

“Hey, don’t feel like you have to walk if you can’t. Just say if you need to be carried for a while.” Izuku offered, Metastra just giving him a warm smile.

“It’s fine, really. My muscles just look worse than they really are.” Metastra stumbled as she said that, barely being able to clutch on to the coat around her. Izuku then noticed a strange jewel on her chest, just below her neck. It looked like a pearl, and it radiated pink light. Even from a distance, he could feel a strange energy emit from it.

After some discussion, they let Metastra walk for a while, but kept Izuku and Ochako in the back to keep watch over her. Thankfully, there were few encounters with monsters in the caves, and those that did attack were disorganized and easy to defeat.

Eventually, Ochako and Izuku got talking. “So what happened when you got here? Where did you end up?”

“Well…” Izuku responded, still not entirely sure of that fact himself, “all I remember is that I woke up in a hospital bed. All Might was there, I remember, but… well…”

“What?”

“He didn’t even have his injury. You know, the one that made him limited in his hero form. And from what he told me, in his timeline, he never even fought All For One.”

“Really? That’s odd, considering all four of us came from the same timeline. Wonder why All Might was the special case…”

“Maybe… I heard somewhere that this world— no, rather, this universe is unstable.”

“What do you mean?”

Izuku crossed his arms and lowered his head, “I don’t know exactly what it means. But from what I heard, it happens when a universe is connected to too many different universes. It would explain why Shulk and the others are here as well. But if that’s the case, then I wonder just how many universes are connected.”

Silence fell over the group once more as they pondered that possibility. A massive multiverse with hundreds of thousands of different walks of life? It was hard to wrap their heads around that. And the fact that they were brought here against their will for an unknown purpose was somewhat depressing.

And the dim caverns weren’t helping to lift the mood. Eventually, though, they reached a checkpoint. There, they rested their legs and asked around to see if anyone knew where Metastra’s brother was. Though, to their misfortune, nobody had a clue.

“It feels like we’re gonna be lugging her everywhere. Why don’t we just dump her here and let the extras find her brother?” Bakugo asked.

“There’s no guarantee that her brother is even in this mountain. Remember, she came through a distortion, and they can place the results pretty much anywhere.” Shulk answered, Bakugo simply grunting while kicking up his feet.

“Whatever. Just don’t expect me to carry her, got it?”

“We’re refilled on rations, so we can head out whenever everyone’s ready.” Reyn told the two.

“Great. Let’s rest a while, though. I’m a bit exhausted from traveling.” Shulk responded, pulling up his hood and laying back.

“I’m with ya there.”

The three of them sat in silence for a while, until Bakugo spoke up. “Something’s bothering me about you two, as well as one-arm.”

“What’s that?”

“If you guys don’t have Quirks, how the hell do you fight?”

“Well, in our world, we don’t have Quirks. The most superhuman thing we had on Bionis was the Monado. And maybe Melia.”

“Other than that, we learnt to rely on using Arts in combat.” Reyn continued, “Though, I wouldn’t turn down a Quirk to mix up our attack style.”

After a few hours of rest, the group was ready to head out once more. Metastra was finally able to ditch the rags she used to wear for some fresh clothing. It wasn’t anything special, though, just a pair of jeans and plain white T-shirt.

The purple light Izuku saw on her chest before was no longer there, though. At the time, he merely brushed it off as delirium from being in the cave for so long. Though, the thought of it being something more was always in the back of his mind.

The road became much more rocky the further they went. Before, they occasionally had rays of sunlight push through the dead continent, but now they could only rely on their own torches and the ether lamps.

“What day is it?” Kirishima drowsily asked, almost tripping over his own feet.

“It’s… hard to tell. I think… we’ve only been here for two days.” Shulk responded, equally drowsy.

Metastra let out an ear shattering scream, and leaped over to the others. “I-I saw something move over there!”

Without thinking, Shulk drew out the Monado, the blade instantly going from blue to green. “Monado PURGE!” The blade released a streak of green energy, which slammed into the cave wall, causing a chain reaction to the entire cave.

“Dumbass! Move it!” Bakugo shouted, everyone rushing to avoid the cave in. The stalactites came rushing down like a storm of spears, and large rocks like hail. Reyn’s shield saved them more times than it should have, and before long they got out of the rocky storm. “What the hell were you thinking, you damn nerd?!”

“I’m with Bakugo there, Shulk. That wasn’t like you at all to attack without thinking!” Reyn said.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

“And you!” Bakugo then pointed at Metastra, “Just because you don’t have your memories doesn’t give you the excuse to scream out of nowhere!”

“I swear, I saw something!”

“It’s probably just delirium from being in this cave. Same case with Shulk. Honestly, this mountain is starting to mess with my head as well.” Dunban said.

“Yeah, but it just feels like we’re going in circles though.” Ochako said, Shulk pulling out a compass.

“We keep heading east, where the next outpost is.”

“How do we know if we’re really heading east though?” The caves felt like they were warping and distorting, their vision becoming blurred by the fog in their minds.

“Dammit, why don’t we just blast our way through the mountain?!” Bakugo’s hands lit up with mini explosions.

“Kacchan, no! We have no idea how stable the mountain is! One more blast could bring down the entire cave system! Several people could die!”

“We’ll just blast the cave-in before it can fall on us!”

“We got enough firepower, we could do it.”

“Kirishima!”

In the chaos, Shulk suddenly had a vision. “Bakugo, get back!” But his warning, as was the Monado’s, was too late. The ground burst open, and Bakugo was flung across the cave. Before he could even react, his head collided with the cave’s wall, knocking him out cold. Another giant spider stood before them.

“Crap! Where did that thing come from?!” Izuku exclaimed.

“No time to debate, we gotta fight!” Dunban made the first move on the beast, but his blade only bounced off the thick hide.

“Stream Edge!!” Shulk exclaimed, sweeping his blade across the spider, but it seemed unaffected by his attack. Damn! This thing is tough! There’s not enough space to maneuver easily either. What do we do?

“St. Louis Smash!!” Izuku shouted, stomping down on the spider’s head, but it seemed unphased. Before he could react, it grabbed his foot in its mouth, its teeth sinking into his calf.

“Izuku!!!” Shulk exclaimed in panic. But before his foot could be severed from his body, a large stone pillar erupted from the ground and slammed the spider against the cave’s top. That moment of shock allowed Izuku to break free from the spider’s grasp. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Just a few cuts.” They looked back at the spider, who was stuck in the top of the cave. Then, from the darkness, a voice sounded.

“Now, Al!” It shouted out, blue lightning lighting up the cave after the sound of a clap. From that lightning came a giant stone blade, which broke against the spider’s body. However, it seemed to do some damage to it. From that area, a giant suit of armor leaped from a cliff and clapped its hands together. It placed its hands on the pillar, and it continued to rise in an attempt to squash the oversized insect.

As this happened, a boy in a red coat followed the suit of armor, clapping his hands together and placing his hand on his right arm. A blade emerged from his wrist, and he pierced the spider’s abdomen where the stone blade had struck before. Twisting the blade vertically, he ran down and let the guts of the creature run out as the stone pillar helped empty it. Before they knew it, the creature that had them cornered so easily was defeated in a matter of seconds.

“Phew! Talk about cutting it close. You alright, Al?” The boy asked.

“Yep, not even a scratch.” The suit of armor said, the young tone of the voice betraying how tall he was.

“Excuse me, but who are you two?”

“First thing’s first, who’s hurt?” The suit of armor asked.

“Izuku here had his leg bitten by that spider. We also have someone knocked out from when it emerged.”

“We have a campsite not too far from here. Bring them there.” The suit of armor said, lifting Bakugo from the rubble.

“You didn’t answer my question. Who are you two?”

“My name is Alphonse Elric, and that’s my big brother, Edward.” The suit of armor introduced.

“Wait, ‘big brother’? But he’s, like, way shorter than you.” Kirishima said, Edward’s eye twitching with annoyance.

“C’mon Al, lets help these guys then be on our way!” Edward said, heading over to Dunban and Izuku. “Can you walk?”

“I don’t think so. I think that bite injected me with some sort of venom, I can’t move my leg at all.”

“Alright, up we go.” Edward took Izuku’s other arm around his neck and helped Dunban carry him. As they headed for the camp, Izuku could hold in his questions anymore.

“How did you do that? Kill the spider, I mean.”

“It’s… a bit complicated.” Edward said. “We’ll explain it when we’re in a safer area. The checkpoint isn’t far.”  
A/N  
You didn’t really think I’d limit myself to only two fandoms, did you? That’s right, the Fullmetal Alchemist is joining the cause. And that’s not all. There are plenty more universes waiting to be introduced into the story. Don’t worry, I’ll be just as beginner friendly with them as all the others.

Anyway, I hope to start getting these done at a faster rate from now on! Stay positive and stay safe!


	6. The Burdens One Carries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As more and more secrets are revealed to our heroes, Izuku begins to question his own, and whether or not keeping them hidden from the team is a good idea. As he contemplates this decision, Mayflower finally is within their reach.

Thankfully for the group, the next outpost wasn’t far. Izuku’s leg got disinfected and patched up, though he lost a bit of blood from his wound. “You’re lucky you were so close to the outpost. If the venom was left unchecked for the day, your leg would have been permanently paralyzed, or even spread to other parts of your body.” The doctor said, finishing the bandages on his leg.

“Thanks for the help.” Izuku said, shifting his weight on the crutch so he could walk. His leg was still paralyzed, but from what he was told, it should go away overnight. The others were sitting in the resting area, as were Edward and Alphonse.

“So how did you two find us anyway?” Dunban asked the two.

“In all honesty, we were actually hunting that giant spider. The people here asked us to take care of it, since it was terrorizing this outpost for a while.” Edward explained.

“I see. So us being there was just a coincidence.” Shulk hummed.

“Don’t get Ed wrong, we would have helped you out even if we weren’t hired to do it.” Alphonse responded, Izuku now noticing that he hasn’t even eaten a bite of his food.

“I’d still like to know how you did what you did back there. You were able to manipulate the ground and walls simply by touching it.” Dunban requested, Izuku taking a seat next to Shulk.

“I’d like to know too. It was all too similar to Overhaul’s Quirk.” Izuku said.

“Now that you mention it, I can totally see the similarity.” Ochako nodded.

“Well, like I said, it’s complicated.” Edward answered.

“Let me guess: it’s one of your world’s unique elements that allowed you to do it?”

“Our world? So you mean you guys are from different worlds?”

“Considering that Izuku’s world is a globe, where ours is an infinite ocean, I think the evidence checks out.” Reyn said, Edward and Alphonse exchanging confused looks.

“I guess that makes sense. But then how did we get here?”

“From what the locals say, there are worldwide events called distortions. These distortions bring over elements of linked worlds, ranging from people to concepts, and even beyond.” Izuku explained, the two brothers looking even more confused.

“I think I see what you’re saying, but still, that’s insane. How is that possible?”

“I don’t think anybody is sure how it works.”

“Well,” Alphonse spoke up, “in our world, we have this… system, I guess is the best way to describe it. Or maybe study is a better term. It’s called alchemy, which allows a person to turn one thing into something else. But in order to perform this, you need a transmutation circle of the corresponding properties. For example, basic circles normally perform basic transmutations, like shape shifting, while more complex circles can perform a wide variety of transmutations, like turning air into hydrogen gas.”

“Okay, I think I see what you’re saying. So you use alchemy to battle?”

“Exactly. But Al and I, we don’t need to use transmutation circles to perform alchemy.” Edward said, the statement further confusing everyone.

“Pardon? But you just said those circles are the only way?”

“Same goes to Alphonse. Is it a hereditary thing?”

Quick to respond, Edward blurted out, “Yeah! Hereditary! That’s the word! Let’s go with that!”

“Okay… then what’s with those metal limbs?” Reyn asked. When he mentioned it, the others quickly noticed Edward’s metal right arm.

“Oh, this? I, uh… lost it in the Ishvalan War. Our home was pretty close to where it took place.” Edward responded.

“Okay…” Reyn hummed, a clank suddenly sounding in Alphonse’s armor.

“Where am I?” A boy asked in the armor, but the voice wasn’t Alphonse’s.

“What in the..?”

“Did he finally wake up?” Edward asked, removing Alphonse’s breastplate, revealing a young boy inside. But when he stepped out, the armor still moved.

“What the bloody hell?!” Reyn exclaimed, all of them jumping back two feet.

“Uh, Ed…” Alphonse said, shyly putting his armor back on.

“Oh, uh… this is awkward.”

“Is… Is your brother a phantom?” Dunban asked.

“No, that’s also a bit complicated.” Edward said, Alphonse removing his helmet and leaning forward.

“You see the circle inside? That’s basically the anchor for my soul. It binds me to this suit of armor.”

“Man. Alchemy is crazy if it can pull someone’s soul back from the dead.” Shulk muttered to himself. “I wonder if…”

“It’s not that simple.” Edward said, kicking his feet up. “Al’s case is special. From what I can gather, death is permanent. Not even the most advanced transmutation can bring back the dead.”

“Then how do you explain Alphonse?”

“If you’re able to make the bond between the soul and the circle before the soul passes on, then it is possible to allow the soul to continue to exist. Ed was able to do so for me.”

“But it didn’t cost me nothing, either.” Edward revealed his left leg, which just like his right arm, was made entirely of metal.

“So you gave up your leg in order to save your brother. I can’t even imagine…” Izuku said. Once more, he was overcome with a feeling of guilt. Even Edward can let out something that deep about himself to complete strangers. So why can’t I?

“Anyway,” Edward said with a grunt, standing up, “we’d better get a move on, right Al?”

“You’re heading off?”

“Yeah, brother doesn’t really do well with large groups.”

“A shame. That alchemy of yours would be rather helpful in our travels.” Reyn said with a shrug.

“Yeah, well, we got our own objectives. Oh, right, you guys said that you were on your way through the mountain, right?” Edward asked.

“Yeah. Do you know a shortcut?”

“Something like that. There’s a supply train on the other side of the camp. The area between the next two outposts is pretty far, so they decided it would be better to build a railway. On top of that, there’s a large ravine from here to there, and building multiple bridges is pretty inefficient. You can try to ask and see if they’ll let you on, though they usually don’t do it for free.”

“Alright, thanks Edward.” With those parting words, they saw the two brothers off, their paths once again split, but hopefully to be reunited once more.

After they left, they turned their attention back to the boy that was in Alphonse’s armor. He was sitting by the bonfire, his eyes scarily fixed on the fire, as if he thought that if he blinked, the fire would lunge out at him.

“So, who are you?” Kirishima asked.

“Eraclese?” The group heard the familiar voice of Metastra, and her voice seemed to bring a wave of calm upon the boy. There, a few feet away from him, Metastra stood, her eyes beginning to water.

“Metastra? Is that really you?” If the boy had moved any faster, he probably would have pulled a muscle. The elated sister simply leaped at him and tackled him with a hug.

“Thank God! I thought you were… that you’d—”

“It’s alright Metastra. We’re together again, that’s all that matters.” The boy, Eraclese, put his arms around his sister, one hand patting her head.

“Well, that takes care of that.” Shulk couldn’t help but have a smile on as well. Kirishima, on the other hand, had discovered a new spring in his own eyes.

“Kirishima, I didn’t know you were this emotional.”

“I— I can’t help it! It’s too beautiful of a reunion!” He wiped his eyes profusely, but the rivers still flowed.

“I have to ask, Eraclese. Do you remember anything? Metastra said she didn’t remember much other than you and her own name.” Izuku asked, trying his best to not also burst into tears over the heartwarming reunion.

Eraclese lowered his head for a moment before shaking his head, “Sorry, I can’t say I remember anything too important. But…” He lowered the collar of his shirt to show a blue gem on his chest.

“That’s an odd accessory. What’s the significance?”

“It’s not an accessory. It’s a part of me.” He demonstrated it by tugging on the gem. It remained firmly on his chest, and didn’t even budge.

“Interesting. Perhaps some sort of life essence? Or power source?”

“I’ve not a clue. But it clearly must have some sort of significance.”

Once more, Izuku fell silent. The pain in his heart became sharper with every secret revealed to him. Each of those burdens dug into his soul like claws, and his guilt seemed to be the anchor for those claws.

It wasn’t long before Ochako and Bakugo joined back into the group, and with no wasted time, they headed for the train station. A few hours passed before they finally headed out, and at long last, the end of the mountain was within their reach.

In reality, they were only in there for two days, but it felt like an eternity to them. And the train ride only took two hours before they finally saw the light of day at the end of the cave.

“Aah, it feels great to finally get a breath of fresh air!” Ochako stretched out, as if the cave was compressing her entire form. And for all they know, it could have been.

“Right, let’s get over to Mayflower ASAP! We still got a mission!”

Not skipping a beat, they boarded the ship bound for Mayflower, and even from where they stood at the harbor, they could see the majestic kingdom in the distance. It was nothing like Suijo. This kingdom was like an empire in stature. Skyscrapers seemed to pierce the heavens, even from a distance their height was impressive. The blackened metal would make the city impossible to see at night as well, but somehow the city seemed so bright despite the depressing colors.

“You know what, it kinda looks like a darker version of Alcamoth, doesn’t it?” Reyn leaned on the railing, once more reminiscing over the world of Bionis.

“The more I think of Bionis… the more I start to miss the others.” Shulk started to have the image of the High Entia capital in his head now, replacing the view of Mayflower.

“Yeah. Would be nice to have Sharla here. Not many in the group that can patch us up if we get wounded.”

“Not to mention Riki or Melia. We haven’t known them for long, but they’re still our friends.”

“And, well… we can’t forget about Fiora either. It sure would be nice to have her back.” Both of their eyes started to well up, the night of the Mechon attack once again in their minds.

“She’s gone, though, Reyn. There’s nothing we can do about it. The best we can do for her is to carry on.” The deadly cloud that plagued the entire world passed by as they looked out, a strange and kind warmth radiating from it. A warmth like a comforting embrace, one that feels like it could banish all the worries and demons from the world.

The day fell to night by the time they arrived at Mayflower. Now that they were up close to the massive city, they could fully realize just how massive the towers were. No doubt that they spanned for at least a hundred floors, and maybe even higher. Yet despite the mechanical theme of the kingdom, there was plenty of greenery around, several trees lining each road, trams and flying trains serving as the main transportation, and not a single car to be seen.

“Now that I think about it, Suizo didn’t have any cars either. I wonder why that is?” Kirishima mused.

“My guess is that it’s too inefficient. Ground vehicles like those would need a lot of room on ships to reach other continents, and even then there are too many mountainous ranges like the Celeste Ruins for them to be of any use. They probably didn’t see any point in mass producing them, and stuck with these kinds of transports.” Shulk explained, his proof further backed by a massive plane flying overhead.

“I guess that makes sense. Plus, with that kind of cargo it’d probably use more fuel on transports.” Ochako added.

“Yeah, those ships don’t exactly scream ‘fuel efficient.”

“Anyway, we should probably find a place to sleep tonight. It’s gotten fairly late.”

“Right! And maybe we can find some grub as well, I’m starving!”

“You can say that again. Feels like we haven’t eaten a crumb since we left Suizo.”

Some time passed, and before long they filled their bellies and found an inn to sleep at. Though late at night, Shulk woke up to see Izuku nowhere to be seen.

‘Uh oh. Please tell me the Blood Banker didn’t follow us here!’ Shulk worriedly thought, grabbing the Monado and carefully leaving the room, being sure to not wake the others. After asking reception if they saw Izuku, he learned that he actually went to the gym. ‘The gym? Rather odd time to get a workout.’

Upon arriving, he realized that the gym wasn’t like normal gyms. Past the weights and training equipment was a large, white room. Inside, Izuku was bolting around, his body clearly bruised and beaten.

As he entered, he began to hear him more clearly. “Dammit! It’s not enough! More!” Lightning then shot around the room from his body. “C’mon! Twenty-five percent!!” But before long, his body gave out, Izuku collapsing to his knees. “Why? Why can’t I go beyond twenty? I need to! If he shows up again, then—” It was then that Izuku noticed Shulk. “Ah… s-sorry to have worried you, Shulk.”

“Izuku… what was that about?”

Izuku turned away from him, his body trembling, though from what was beyond Shulk. “You all… you’re so amazing.”

“Huh?”

“You can tell complete strangers your deepest secrets without thinking, and yet… here I am, keeping so much from you. My Quirk, what happened in Victory… I haven’t even told Kacchan yet.”

Shulk only stayed quiet. He was worried that if he did talk, that it would only deepen Izuku’s sorrow.

“I should have moved on by now, but… I can’t!” In a fit of rage, Izuku slammed his fist against the wall. “Why did I have to be the one to let All Might die?! If I had been stronger! If I wasn’t so damn useless! I would have been able to save All Might!”

‘So that’s what was on his mind. All this time, he’s been carrying that guilt with him. It’s just like when we lost Fiora to the Mechon…’

“I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to hear—”

“You’re wrong! You need this, Deku!” Shulk suddenly blurted out. Izuku’s breathing finally slowed as he turned to face him.

“You just called me Deku.”

“Oh, uh, sorry, I just—”

“No no, it’s fine! It’s… just a bit of a surprise to hear you say it.” The two of them laughed the awkwardness off, sitting on the benches outside the room. There, Izuku told Shulk everything about his past with All Might. The months of training on the beach, the day when he received One For All from All Might, him being accepted into UA and his countless struggles to master the borrowed Quirk, the day that All Might faced All For One in Kamino Ward, and his fight with Bakugo. Every secret that he’d kept from others, Izuku told Shulk. Afterward, there was silence. Only the humming of the lights made any noise.

“You know… Deku, you and I aren’t any different. The Monado was given to me by Dunban, the same way that All Might gave you his Quirk. And each new power of the Monado given to me was only unlocked by a spur-of-the-moment decision to change fate, the same way that you gradually learned how to master One For All. And I lost Fiora, the same way you lost All Might.”

Izuku remained silent, but released a shaky breath. “It’s… oddly calming. Having someone else to speak to about One For All. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Kacchan gives me a bit of advice here and there, but… it’s nice to finally have someone to empathize with.”

As he got up, Shulk stopped him once more. “Let’s train together.”

“Huh?”

“The Monado can’t cut people, so it’s a good practice tool for hand-to-weapon combat. If we ever run into Blood again, it’ll be bad if you’re caught unprepared. So…” Shulk activated the Monado, its blue, radiant light reflecting on the clear white metal of the gym.

“I understand. Then, let’s spar.” And as they entered the training room to train, Izuku felt a renewed kinship with Shulk, like he was the brother he never had. And for that one moment, that was all he needed.


End file.
